About the William R. Laws Human Rights Award

The Human Rights Commission accepts nominations from the public for the William R. Laws Human Rights Award at the beginning of the year. The recipient will be a member, a group of members from the community, or a community organization who have made a substantial contribution to the community of Columbus in any area(s) of human equality. The most recent award was presented to Tom Harmon, CEO of Taylor Brothers Construction Company, Inc. and president of Harmon Steel, Inc. Other Laws Award recipients include Owen Hungerford, Bob Pitman, Tracy Souza, the Heritage Fund’s Community Foundation of Bartholomew County, Tim Solso and Joe Loughrey, Sondra Bolte, Benjamin “Mickey” King, and J. Irwin Miller.

The nominees for the Award should have made a significant contribution by doing one or more of the following: (1) improving relationships among all peoples; (2) increasing the sensitivity of one group toward another group; (3) educating people about the barriers or eliminating the barriers facing people of color, women, persons with disabilities, religious minorities, or others who have been treated iunequally because of prejudice; or (4) using existing means or creating new safeguards to protect the rights of others.